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lVl

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( 19

th" members Crom fin; and, 3. The C.ning

,he heart

from

worldly

CAres.

and

refiraining lhe thOllghts from e–

yory ,hing hefides God.

The Mohammedilns are obliged,

(he exprcfs com–

nldnd of lhe rearan, t

O r.Ji

the whole

month of

Ramadan,

from the time the

ne~Y

moao

rirO: appears,

tiJl

lhe ap–

pearance of the next nc\V moan ; during which time they

mull abHain rrom eatiog, drioking, and women, from day–

break ,ill nigh, or Cun·Ce,. And ,his injunélion ,hey

obC«ve

fo flriélly. ,ha" while ,hey

C.Il,

lhey Cuffer no–

thing

enter their mouths, oc other

pans

of their ba·

dy, elleemiog ,he C.1l brokeo . nd null, if ,hey Cmell per–

fu mes, take a c1yfler oc injeétioo, bathe. oc even pue–

poCely Cwallow their Cpittle : Come being

e.u,ious. ,ha!

they wi ll

00'

opeo ,heir mou,hs 'o Cpe.k, lelllheyfhould

breathe

lhe

air too freely: the fan is

airo

de.emed void,

aman kifs or touch a

\Vam.lO

he vomit defigned–

Iy. Bu, .C,er Cuo·Ce, ,hey are allowcd 'o reCrcfh ,hem–

fcd ves, and

cat and drink, and cnjay the company of

their wives ,il1 day·br!!ak; though (he more rigid begin

th!! fan agdin al midnight. This fan is extremdy rigo–

rous and mortifying when the Olonth ofRamadan happens

to falJ in fUOlnler, ((or, lhe Arabian year being lunar,

each moo,h ruos rhrough .11 ,he differen' Ceafoos

,he

courCe oC,hirty.three years) ,he leng.h and hea, of ,he

days making the obfervance of it

much

more difficult

and

'uneafy than io \Vinler.

The reafongiven why lhe month of Ramadan \Vas pitch–

cd on for this purpofe is, that on thal month the KoraD

WdS

Cenl

down from heaveo. Sorne preteod IhM Abra–

ham, Mofes, and Jl!fus , received lheir n:rpet'live revelations

io the rame

month.

The pilgrimage

Mecea is

oeeelI"ary a poio,

praflice, that, according to a traditioo of Mohammed,

he who dies without performing it mayas well die a

Jew or a Chrinian; and lhe

fame

is exprefsly commaod·

io the Korao.

The ,emple

M ece. Il. ods io ,he midll

,he eity,

and is honoured with (he title of Mí\sjad al

dh.tr

;tm,

Ih~facr~d

imli()!ab/~

ulJlp/e.

\tV'hat is principalJy re·

verenced in this place, and gives fantlity tOthe whole, is

a fquare none building. called the Caaba, as fOnle fancy,

(rom its height, which furpatT"ts th'M of the other build–

ings in Mecea ; but more prob.lbly, f(om its qUildrangular

formo and Bei, AII.h, i e. , be

ha.!,

o/ Gon ,

beiog pe–

culiar/y hallowed and Ce, apart Cor his worfh,p. The

length of this eJilice, fromnorth tO fouth. is twenty four

cubits, its breadth from eaH to wetl twenty three cubits,

~nd

irs htight twenty· feveo cubits: the door, which is

the ean ftde, Ilands

~bout

four cubits from the ground ;

the

Roor

being level with the bouom of the door. In

the Corner next this door is

th~

block

fioll~.

,hl!

nonh !ide of the Cadbtl. within a femicircular inclufure

fi fty cubils long, lies the

whi/~

jJolle,

raid to be the fe –

pulchre of HhmaeJ, which receives the rain water that

falls off ,he Caah. by. Cpou,. Cormerly

wooJ, bu,

now

gold. T he Caaba has a dOllble

rooC,

Cupported

",,¡rhin by duee

oaan~;Jlar

pillars or

alo~s

wood; between

which,

0 0

bar of irun, hilng fome filvt:r lamps.

The

outlirle is covcred with rich black damafk, adorned with

embroidered u¿nd of S?ld, whieh i, eh.nged " 'cry

1\1

A H

y.ar,

and "'os Cormer/y feo. by the Kh.liC,. aC,erwará.

by ,he Soltaos

Egyp'.•nd is oow provided by ,he

Turkifh emperors . At a CmalJ dil1ance from the Caaba,

on the e3fi Gde. is

thefla tio1J

placeor

Abraham, wherc'

is another none much refpeéted by the Mohammedans,

of whieh fome,hiog will be Caid hereaC,er.

Th~

Caaba,

fome dilhnee,

rurrounded, but "ot

entirely, by a circutar ,nclorure of pillars joincd towards

,he bottom by a low baluOrade, and towards . he 'op by

bars

of lilver.

ull

without lhis ioner inclofure,

0 0

the

Couth, nonh, and wefl lides of the

Cuba,

are three

buildings, which are the oratories or places where three

of the onhodox felh a(femble to perform their devotions ...

('he Courth feél,

viz .

,ha!

al ShaCei, m.king ufe of

,he na,ioo

Abrah..m

Cor

tha! purpofe;) aod, ,oward.

,he Comh·ean, Oaods ,he edifiee whieh eoven ,he well.

Zemzem, ,he treaCury, aod the eupola

al· Abbas.

AII ,heCe ouildiog' >.re ioc/oCed, a, a eoofiderable dif–

tance.

magniliceot piazza, or fquare eoloonade,

like

,ha!

,he R oyal Exehaoge in L oodoo, bu' much I"ger,

covered with fmall domes or cupoJas; from the four COr–

ners whereof

riC~

as maoy minlretS or fieeples, with

double g.lIerics, aod . doroed wi,h gilded Cpires and eref–

cents, as are the eupolas which CQver the piazza and the

other buildings

Between

th~

piJlars of both mclofures

h.ng

a groa, number

lamps, whieh are eonllantly light–

at night.

This is properly all ,ha! is ealled ,I" ' ,emple ; bu., ,he'

whole territory of

M~cca

being

Haram or

racred~

there is a third inclofure diHínguifhed at cerlaln diltanees

by fmall turrets, fome five, fOlne feve n, and others

(eo

miles dil1ant from the city. Wilhin this

compa.fs

ground

is nOI lawful to auack an enemy. or even

huot or fowl , or cut

branch from a trec.

The temple of Meccí\ was a place of worfhip. and

fingul.tr vent:r.ttioo

\Vith lhe Arabs. from great anliquity,

and man}' centuries before Mohammed. Though it \Vas–

mol! probably dediea'ed a, firl! ' o

idolatrolls uCe, yet

,he Mohammedaos are generally p'erCuaded lha, ,he Gaaba

is almon coevaJ wil h Ihe

world~

After

lhis erlifice had uodergone'

reveral'

reparationS

was a few yetlTs

~fter

lhe birth of Moh<lmmed rebuilt

by the Koreifh

the old fou ndation, aad afterwards re.

paired by Abd'all..h Ebn

Zou.ir

, ,he KhaliC

M ece. ;

aod

leng'h .gain rebuil, by YufoC, fllroaOled ' al Hejaj,

in Ihe reveoly.fourt h year of the" Hejra, with fome alte..

Tations, in Ihe form wht:rein

now remains.

SOOle

yeMs after, howevcr. the Khalif Harun al

R:;Jhid

(or,

others write, his falher'at Mohdi, or his grandfather

al Manfur) i01cnded agaio

chllnge what had been aJ.

,ered by . 1 Hejaj, and 'o' reduce ,he Caaba 'o ,he old

form in which il'

~vas

Jefe hy Abd'all. h;

IJUt

w~s

dir.

Cuadcd Crom meddliog wi,h i" lell

holy •

pl.ce

fh ould·

bccome the fpon of prinees, imd, being new-moldeIled af...

(er every one's fancy, Ihould lore thtlt

rev~rence

whidi

was juHly paid it.

But .

not withfh!nding the antiquity

and

.h~lioe!s

of this building,. chey have a prophecy, by

Iradmon from MohammeJ, that in {he Jan times the

Elhio?ians

Olall

come and unerly rlemolifh it; after

which it

\ViII

not be rcbuih again

fl'C

cver.

Before \Ve I.,,·e lhe trmple of M eeea, ,\vo or ,hree

paruculars